LOC00:22
21:22 GMT
WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (KUNA) -- An Al-Qaeda operative, identified as Ibrahim Harun, aka Spin Ghul, 47, was sentenced Friday to life in prison following his March 2017 trial conviction of multiple terrorism offenses.
The charges included conspiracy to murder American military personnel in Afghanistan, conspiracy to bomb the US Embassy in Nigeria, and providing material support to Al-Qaeda.
US Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Edward O'Callaghan said in a statement that with the sentence handed down today, "our justice system has once again held accountable an Al-Qaeda operative for his terrorist activities, ensuring that he will spend the rest of his life in prison."
He affirmed that the evidence presented at trial established that the defendant and other jihadists attacked a US military patrol in Afghanistan, resulting in the death of two American soldiers and the serious injury of others.
According to the Department of Justice, in April 2003, Harun and other Al-Qaeda "jihadists" ambushed a US military patrol near the Afghan-Pakistan border during which two US servicemen were killed in the attack and several other soldiers were seriously wounded.
It added that in the summer of 2003, senior Al-Qaeda leaders dispatched Harun from Pakistan to Nigeria to bomb the US Embassy in Abuja. Upon arriving in Nigeria, Harun "recruited accomplices, scouted the Embassy and other potential Western targets, and sent an accomplice to find explosives. He also met with local terrorist leaders to expand Al-Qaeda's terrorist network in West Africa."
In 2004, Harun directed a coconspirator to courier information and materials from Nigeria to Al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan. After learning that the coconspirator had been arrested in Pakistan, Harun fled Nigeria to Libya, from where he planned to enter Europe to carry out terrorist attacks against Western interests.
Harun was arrested in 2005 by Libyan authorities and held in custody until his release in June 2011. He was arrested in June 2011 by Italian authorities. He was indicted on terrorism changes in the US in February 2012 and extradited from Italy to the US later that year. (end)
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